On New Year's Day, the children go and visit their father, Frankie, at the home of his new partner Sarah, but she is rude, selfish and obnoxious.

On a visit they take to a park, Em, Vita and Maxie are astounded to find their Dad passionately kissing Sarah, in a way that he would never do to their mum.

Emily runs after Frankie, falls and breaks her arm and Dancer (Vita's reindeer puppet), but her dad stops and takes her to the hospital.

She loves reading, making up stories about Dancer, Vita's reindeer puppet, and her special emerald ring.

Maxie – Em's wimpy half brother who was given a set of expensive felt tip pens for Christmas.

He potentially has a developmental disability—for example he does not want to sleep in a proper bed, he hates pyjamas, and is a fussy eater due to sensory issues.

However, one day, Em finds that the reason his special felt tips are all dried up even though she rarely ever sees him drawing is because he is writing letters to his beloved Dad.

She has a warm and optimistic disposition, but when the shadow of deep sadness is cast over her family, it's almost like there is a grey rain cloud following around all of the time.

Sometimes, under such stressful and upsetting conditions, Mum's emotions lead her to say things she doesn't truly mean, but she really loves her children and wants them to have a nice, warm childhood, despite their situation.

She holds a strong grudge against Frankie (their Dad), but she also wishes she could wave a magic wand and make everything alright.

Em and her mother left him when she was younger due to violence, and run into him at a fairground, where they discover he has two sons with another woman.

Eddie - A widowed man who the family meet while on holiday in Spain, who later develops romantic feelings for Ellen.

The TV adaptation of The Story of Tracy Beaker is also referred to because Maxie told Em to "bog off", which Em said "he had picked up from a television programme", implied to be TSOTB because Tracy Beaker frequently said "bog off" in the book and TV series.

The Observer wrote "Jacqueline Wilson's particular talent is to find a bittersweetness in the dysfunctional families she describes.

"[3] and Booktrust commented "Jacqueline Wilson proves once again why, as one of the most highly-gifted and most resonant voices in contemporary children's literature, she is also deservedly one of the best-loved.